Monthly Archives: December 2020
Among Us Reportedly Had ‘Half a Billion Monthly Active Users in November’
Among Us Reportedly Had ‘Half a Billion Monthly Active Users in November’
3,300-Year-Old Baboon Skull May Tease a Fabled Land
3,300-Year-Old Baboon Skull May Tease a Fabled Land
Super Nintendo World’s Area Map, Merchandise, and Cafe Items Revealed
Universal Studios Japan has released an area map for its forthcoming Super Nintendo World area, themed around characters from the Mario games and their universe of spinoffs. Starting today, the park has been inviting selected Club Universal members and annual pass holders to experience the new area firsthand ahead of its February 4 2021 opening.
Super Nintendo World is the most complex area at USJ to date. We had already seen glimpses of the Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge and Yoshi's Adventure rides (and IGN Japan previously published a video showing the inside of Bowser’s Castle); now USJ has shared some details of the menu at the Kinopio Cafe (Kinopio is the Japanese name for Toad), which includes a Bacon & Cheese Mario Burger, Piranha Plant Caprese and Question Block Tiramisu. Merchandise to be sold at the 1Up Factory Shop includes Mario themed hoodies, moustachioed glasses and gloves, as well as the cute Tokotoko Mario toy shown off by Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto during his video tour of the park released last weekend. Check out images of some of the food dishes and merchandise below.
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* Images provided by Universal Studios Japan, ©Nintendo
In addition to the large-scale facilities and attractions, there will be activities where guests can collect virtual coins and play against enemy characters using a Power Up Band (3,200 yen including tax, or about $31/£23) that can be linked to a smartphone app. These will include activities and challenges whose Japanese names translate to “Aim! Koopa Troopa POW Block Punch” and “Stop! Piranha Plant Alarm Panic”.
There will also be a Meet & Greet photo spot, where visitors can meet Mario and Luigi, take photos together with them and even engage them in conversation.
Japanese superstar YouTuber Hikakin was appointed a partner of USJ, and he has published a sponsored video of his experience at Super Nintendo World on his channel that shows a little more detail.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/30/super-nintendo-world-reveal-trailer"]
Universal Studios Japan is located in Osaka, Japan. Super Mario World was originally slated to open last summer, but was delayed to its current February 4 2021 opening date in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan is currently not granting entry to foreign tourists until further notice, so Nintendo fans outside of Japan will have to wait before they can visit – though a Super Nintendo World area will eventually be added to Universal Studios theme parks in Hollywood, Florida and Singapore.
For more on USJ’s collaboration with Nintendo, check out our report from the Mario Cafe & Store in the main area of the park, which is already open, selling specially designed exclusive snacks and goods themed on Mario and friends; and a look around Bowser’s Castle and a sneak peek at the Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge ride.
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Daniel Robson is Chief Editor at IGN Japan. Follow him on Twitter for all your Japan gaming theme park tokotoko needs.Super Nintendo World’s Area Map, Merchandise, and Cafe Items Revealed
Universal Studios Japan has released an area map for its forthcoming Super Nintendo World area, themed around characters from the Mario games and their universe of spinoffs. Starting today, the park has been inviting selected Club Universal members and annual pass holders to experience the new area firsthand ahead of its February 4 2021 opening.
Super Nintendo World is the most complex area at USJ to date. We had already seen glimpses of the Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge and Yoshi's Adventure rides (and IGN Japan previously published a video showing the inside of Bowser’s Castle); now USJ has shared some details of the menu at the Kinopio Cafe (Kinopio is the Japanese name for Toad), which includes a Bacon & Cheese Mario Burger, Piranha Plant Caprese and Question Block Tiramisu. Merchandise to be sold at the 1Up Factory Shop includes Mario themed hoodies, moustachioed glasses and gloves, as well as the cute Tokotoko Mario toy shown off by Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto during his video tour of the park released last weekend. Check out images of some of the food dishes and merchandise below.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=super-nintendo-world-area-map-merchandise-and-cafe-items&captions=true"]
* Images provided by Universal Studios Japan, ©Nintendo
In addition to the large-scale facilities and attractions, there will be activities where guests can collect virtual coins and play against enemy characters using a Power Up Band (3,200 yen including tax, or about $31/£23) that can be linked to a smartphone app. These will include activities and challenges whose Japanese names translate to “Aim! Koopa Troopa POW Block Punch” and “Stop! Piranha Plant Alarm Panic”.
There will also be a Meet & Greet photo spot, where visitors can meet Mario and Luigi, take photos together with them and even engage them in conversation.
Japanese superstar YouTuber Hikakin was appointed a partner of USJ, and he has published a sponsored video of his experience at Super Nintendo World on his channel that shows a little more detail.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/30/super-nintendo-world-reveal-trailer"]
Universal Studios Japan is located in Osaka, Japan. Super Mario World was originally slated to open last summer, but was delayed to its current February 4 2021 opening date in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan is currently not granting entry to foreign tourists until further notice, so Nintendo fans outside of Japan will have to wait before they can visit – though a Super Nintendo World area will eventually be added to Universal Studios theme parks in Hollywood, Florida and Singapore.
For more on USJ’s collaboration with Nintendo, check out our report from the Mario Cafe & Store in the main area of the park, which is already open, selling specially designed exclusive snacks and goods themed on Mario and friends; and a look around Bowser’s Castle and a sneak peek at the Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge ride.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Daniel Robson is Chief Editor at IGN Japan. Follow him on Twitter for all your Japan gaming theme park tokotoko needs.Silent Hill Creator’s New Project Will Be a Horror Action-Adventure Game, Aiming for 2023
Silent Hill and Gravity Rush creator Keiichiro Toyama has shared some details of the upcoming debut game from his new studio, which will be a horror-themed action-adventure, aiming for a 2023 release, that will appeal to Toyama's fans.
Toyama's Bokeh Game Studio was founded on August 13 and announced publicly in December. Speaking with IGN Japan, the acclaimed developer explained that he is working on “an action-adventure game that will appeal to fans of my previous work”. He explained that the game will include “battles and story elements” in the kind of richly authored worlds you might recognize from his games at Sony’s Japan Studio and Konami.
When pressed on whether this new title will lean more toward the horror themes of Silent Hill and Siren or the cuter anime-styled paranormal setting of Gravity Rush, he explained, “If anything, this will be more of a horror-oriented game. But we will focus on making this a broader entertainment experience, rather than a hardcore horror game.”
While Toyama has been a first-party Sony developer for the past 20 years or so, he said that this new game will be a multi-platform release. “We are developing with PC as the lead platform, but we hope to release the game on as many console platforms as possible,” he said.
[caption id="attachment_2456458" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bokeh Game Studio founders Junya Okura, Keiichiro Toyama, and Kazunobu Sato.[/caption]The new title is being developed by a “fairly large” team, and Bokeh cofounder and producer Kazunobu Sato explained that they are still in the early stages of development, with an estimated target release date of 2023. “We’re just entering prototype development, and development will probably take nearly three years. So we hope to get this game into your hands in about three years from now.”
Regarding the studio’s foundation, Toyama explained that a combination of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic and turning 50 prompted him to think about his future, and to answer the beckoning call of independence. He turned to longtime collaborators Sato (producer on the Siren series and The Last Guardian) and Junya Okura (lead level designer on the Siren and Gravity Rush series, whom Toyama credits with giving shape to his gameplay ideas), and the three Japan Studio colleagues set up Bokeh Game Studio together, with Toyama as Creator, Sato as Producer and Okura as Game Director. They initially considered creating smaller mobile games, before eventually building up a team of “mostly veterans” to increase the scale of their ambitions.
“I took a lot of inspiration from genDESIGN,” said Toyama, referring to the studio founded by Ico creator Fumito Ueda, who was yet another Japan Studio alumnus. “Ueda told me so much about his experiences that it inspired me to follow suit.”
While Bokeh’s first game may be a way off, Sato and business development manager Yohei Hart (also ex-Japan Studio) promised that the studio’s newly launched Twitter account and Facebook account will show peeks behind the curtain as the team progresses with development. “When you work at a major studio like Japan Studio, there is a limit to what you can share publicly, so now that we are free from those restraints, we’d like to take the opportunity to share as much as we can … so that the audience can see how the game comes together over time,” explained Sato. “We hope it might help people to not forget about us.”
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Daniel Robson is Chief Editor at IGN Japan – and (full disclosure) also worked for a spell at Sony’s Japan Studio. Follow him on Twitter here.Silent Hill Creator’s New Project Will Be a Horror Action-Adventure Game, Aiming for 2023
Silent Hill and Gravity Rush creator Keiichiro Toyama has shared some details of the upcoming debut game from his new studio, which will be a horror-themed action-adventure, aiming for a 2023 release, that will appeal to Toyama's fans.
Toyama's Bokeh Game Studio was founded on August 13 and announced publicly in December. Speaking with IGN Japan, the acclaimed developer explained that he is working on “an action-adventure game that will appeal to fans of my previous work”. He explained that the game will include “battles and story elements” in the kind of richly authored worlds you might recognize from his games at Sony’s Japan Studio and Konami.
When pressed on whether this new title will lean more toward the horror themes of Silent Hill and Siren or the cuter anime-styled paranormal setting of Gravity Rush, he explained, “If anything, this will be more of a horror-oriented game. But we will focus on making this a broader entertainment experience, rather than a hardcore horror game.”
While Toyama has been a first-party Sony developer for the past 20 years or so, he said that this new game will be a multi-platform release. “We are developing with PC as the lead platform, but we hope to release the game on as many console platforms as possible,” he said.
[caption id="attachment_2456458" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bokeh Game Studio founders Junya Okura, Keiichiro Toyama, and Kazunobu Sato.[/caption]The new title is being developed by a “fairly large” team, and Bokeh cofounder and producer Kazunobu Sato explained that they are still in the early stages of development, with an estimated target release date of 2023. “We’re just entering prototype development, and development will probably take nearly three years. So we hope to get this game into your hands in about three years from now.”
Regarding the studio’s foundation, Toyama explained that a combination of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic and turning 50 prompted him to think about his future, and to answer the beckoning call of independence. He turned to longtime collaborators Sato (producer on the Siren series and The Last Guardian) and Junya Okura (lead level designer on the Siren and Gravity Rush series, whom Toyama credits with giving shape to his gameplay ideas), and the three Japan Studio colleagues set up Bokeh Game Studio together, with Toyama as Creator, Sato as Producer and Okura as Game Director. They initially considered creating smaller mobile games, before eventually building up a team of “mostly veterans” to increase the scale of their ambitions.
“I took a lot of inspiration from genDESIGN,” said Toyama, referring to the studio founded by Ico creator Fumito Ueda, who was yet another Japan Studio alumnus. “Ueda told me so much about his experiences that it inspired me to follow suit.”
While Bokeh’s first game may be a way off, Sato and business development manager Yohei Hart (also ex-Japan Studio) promised that the studio’s newly launched Twitter account and Facebook account will show peeks behind the curtain as the team progresses with development. “When you work at a major studio like Japan Studio, there is a limit to what you can share publicly, so now that we are free from those restraints, we’d like to take the opportunity to share as much as we can … so that the audience can see how the game comes together over time,” explained Sato. “We hope it might help people to not forget about us.”
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-ps1-games-ever&captions=true"]
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Daniel Robson is Chief Editor at IGN Japan – and (full disclosure) also worked for a spell at Sony’s Japan Studio. Follow him on Twitter here.The 4K, 240FPS KFConsole Is Real… And It Will Keep Your Chicken Warm
The KFConsole's case is built by Cooler Master, and the patented Chicken Chamber is perhaps its marquee feature. "Never risk letting your chicken go cold again thanks to the patented Chicken Chamber," The description reads. "Utilising the systems natural heat and airflow system you can now focus on your gameplay and enjoy hot, crispy chicken between rounds." The KFConsole is housed in a custom Cooler Master NC100 chassis and includes an Intel Nuc 9 and an Asus powered GPU that can be swapped out. It also has two Seagate BarraCuda 1TB SSDs that have "PCIe NVMe speeds that are 6x faster." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=kfconsole-images&captions=true"] The release date and pricing of the KFConsole have yet to be given, but hopefully they won't be as tough to find as the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. KFC has been working its way into the hearts and minds of many with not only its food and the KFConsole, but also with its official KFC dating sim and its Lifetime movie that stars Mario Lopez as Colonel Sanders. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.The console wars are over.
Introducing the KFConsole. #PowerYourHunger pic.twitter.com/k7AM6g61Ip — KFC Gaming (@kfcgaming) December 22, 2020
The 4K, 240FPS KFConsole Is Real… And It Will Keep Your Chicken Warm
The KFConsole's case is built by Cooler Master, and the patented Chicken Chamber is perhaps its marquee feature. "Never risk letting your chicken go cold again thanks to the patented Chicken Chamber," The description reads. "Utilising the systems natural heat and airflow system you can now focus on your gameplay and enjoy hot, crispy chicken between rounds." The KFConsole is housed in a custom Cooler Master NC100 chassis and includes an Intel Nuc 9 and an Asus powered GPU that can be swapped out. It also has two Seagate BarraCuda 1TB SSDs that have "PCIe NVMe speeds that are 6x faster." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=kfconsole-images&captions=true"] The release date and pricing of the KFConsole have yet to be given, but hopefully they won't be as tough to find as the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. KFC has been working its way into the hearts and minds of many with not only its food and the KFConsole, but also with its official KFC dating sim and its Lifetime movie that stars Mario Lopez as Colonel Sanders. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.The console wars are over.
Introducing the KFConsole. #PowerYourHunger pic.twitter.com/k7AM6g61Ip — KFC Gaming (@kfcgaming) December 22, 2020